Shanghai Model United Nations XIX 2017 | Research Reports Forum: Human Rights Council Issue: The Human Rights Situation in the Student Officer: Annie Xie Position: President of the Human Rights Council

Introduction

On June 30th, 2016, President of the Philippines commenced a war on drugs. This was due to concern regarding the statistics of the Philippines’ drug problem. The Philippine Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) estimated that there was a total of 1.8 million drug users in the Philippines in 2015. In 2005, the DDB reported that five million citizens, 6% of the population, used methamphetamine regularly–– making the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime announce that the Philippines had “the world’s highest methamphetamine prevalence rate” in that year. In 2008, the number was reported to be 1.9%, a much more promising figure.

Despite the decrease in drug use in the Philippines over recent years, Duterte has only increased the intensity of the crackdown on drugs. Duterte has not only cited inflated numbers of drug addicts in the Philippines to exaggerate the severity of the issue–– 3 million in 2016 and 7 million in 2017–– but has also claimed that 75% of heinous crimes are committed by drug users, a statement that is not supported by any evidence, to gain mainstream support for his war on drugs. As reported by , is estimated that over 7,000 people were killed from 2016 to 2017 due to government-supported anti-drug operations. The Human Rights Watch (HRW), other organisations, and the Philippine media have discovered that police officers often kill unarmed suspects during the anti-drug raids and have even planted evidence on the victims’ dead bodies to justify their killings. Beside the police force working to execute suspected drug users, Duterte has also encouraged citizens to take matters into their own hands and kill addicts themselves. Most disturbing is how the Philippine National Police (PNP) has implemented a new strategy where anonymous informants can put names of “drug users” into public drop-boxes, allowing personal vendettas to take priority over actual drug crimes.

Naturally, Duterte’s violent war on drugs has destabilised parts of the Philippines. Many innocent lives have been lost due to the unjust persecution of drug users, and many more live in constant terror of being killed. Despite condemnation from numerous nations, organisations, and political figures, Duterte plans on continuing the horrific war on drugs until 2022 when his presidency ends. The Human Rights Council, then, must devise a resolution to protect the lives of millions of innocent civilians and restore balance to the Philippines.

Definition of Key Terms

Anti-Torture Act

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The Anti-Torture Act of 2009, also the Republic Act 9745, criminalises physical and mental torture and other degrading treatment by persons in authority as well as secret prisons and solitary confinement in detention places, even during times of war or political instability. It was signed into law by former President Arroyo.

According to NGOs and press reports, the Anti-Torture Act, which is compliant with the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, was repeatedly violated during anti-drug operations. Local media published photographs of hundreds of prisoners sitting naked while being searched at the Cebu provincial jail. In a predawn operation dubbed “Operation Greyhound,” prisoners were forced to remove their clothes while officials searched their jail cells. Human Rights Watch has expressed concern that the search, conducted in the open and publicized, was inhumane and violated the prisoners’ right to privacy.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)

The military forces of the Philippines. It consists of the Army, Navy and the Air Force. President Rodrigo Duterte is the Commander-in-Chief.

Arbitrary Arrest or Detention

Arbitrary Arrest or Detention is the arrest or detention of an individual where there is no likelihood or evidence that they committed a crime against legal statute, or in which there has been no proper due process of law or order.

The Philippine constitution prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention and claims that citizens have the right to challenge the lawfulness of their arrest or detention in court. The government generally observed these requirements. As of July, the Office of the Ombudsman, an independent agency responsible for investigating and prosecuting charges of public abuse and impropriety, reported 75 arbitrary detention violations committed by law enforcement agencies or the AFP. Investigations into 74 of these cases were pending, while the remaining case was dismissed.

Extra-Judicial Killings (EJK)

An extra-judicial killing is the killing of a person by governmental authorities without undergoing the any judicial proceeding or legal process.

Amnesty International, a non-governmental organisation focused on human rights, has accused the Philippine police of "systematically planning" extrajudicial killings in the war on drugs.

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Human Rights Watch (HRW)

Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. On their website, hrw.org, they claim that “President Rodrigo Duterte has plunged the Philippines into its worst human rights crisis since the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos in the 1970s and 1980s.” The HRW is regularly updated with investigations on the human rights situation in the Philippines from local sources and their own investigation team.

Philippine National Police (PNP)

The Philippine National Police is the armed, civilian national police force in the Philippines. Compared to the military, the police has its own structure of authority and accountability.

Rodrigo Duterte

Rodrigo Duterte assumed the presidency on June 30, 2016, after a long tenure serving as Mayor of , a district in the Philippines with the highest murder rate, second highest rape rate, and fourth highest number of index crimes in the country. Duterte won with the promise of killing drug users. He said in April before he was elected, “All of you who are into drugs… I will really kill you.” Prior to assuming office, Duterte was criticized by the HRW for allowing a vigilante group named the Davao , which he has been reported to have ties to, to commit extrajudicial killings of hundreds of street children, petty criminals, and drug users. In December, Duterte admitted to killing drug users during his time as mayor of Davao.

As President, Duterte has urged its citizens to take matters into their own hands and kill suspected criminals and drug addicts, ordered the police to adopt a shoot-to-kill policy.

Background Information

Humanitarian crisis

The Philippine’s war on drugs has resulted in countless unnecessary deaths and continues to violate civilian’s human rights. In February of 2018, , an opposition senator of the war on drugs, showed that the Duterte administration has reported the deaths of 3,967 “drug personalities” between July 2016 and November 2017. However, 16,355 homicide cases from the same time period have been classified as “under investigation”. The PNP has claimed that these deaths have resulted from self-defence or if the suspect was “fighting back,” but reports have shown that local police have fabricated details from anti-drug raids to justify their killings.

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According to Amnesty International, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) focused on human rights, PNP members and unarmed persons carried out 7,025 drug-related killings in total from July 2016 to January 2017. Many of these killings occurred without victims fighting back, as numerous witnesses have provided contradicting accounts to the NGO, claiming that the police regularly shoot at and kill suspects without reason. Amnesty International has also accused the PNP of “systematically planning” EJKs. These occurrences, EJKs, are considered by the UN to be a violation of human rights as it results in the deaths of people who have not yet been proved guilty of their suspected crimes. Additionally, a report by Aljazeera showed that the PNP has also killed numerous teenagers and children as part of the war on drugs. Duterte referred to them as “collateral damage”. The lack of compassion and remorse expressed by the administration is worrying, but not far from the narrative of the war on drugs. Bodies are also dumped into rivers or left in back alleys and street corners, usually wrapped in packing tape. Victims are found with multiple stab wounds or bullet holes in their bodies. The gruesome treatment of suspected drug personalities works as a form of intimidation to not only warn others against drugs, but also to assert Duterte’s ruthless persecution of drug users and dealers.

Governmental transparency

The war on drugs has also compromised the transparency of the Philippines’ government. In October 2017, a 17-year-old boy named Kian Loyd delos Santos was killed by the PNP. Due to mass protests, police anti-drug operations were suspended from October until January of 2018. Yet, in February of 2018, the PNP admitted to killing 46 suspected “drug personalities” between December and February. Currently, there is no accountability for those involved in the war on drugs. The HRW has pointed out that masked vigilantes often carry out killings of suspected drug personalities, yet these executions are not kept in police records. They have also discovered that suspects who were reported alive under police custody would be found dead later, and even more shockingly, would be filed as “found bodies” or “deaths under investigation” by the police. Because of the unreliable reports provided by the Philippine government, the concrete number of drug-related killings cannot be reached. Many human rights organisations have had to conduct their own research to arrive at a reasonable and accurate statistic.

Surveys conducted by Amnesty International has revealed that the PNP are pressured and incentivised to fatally shoot drug offenders. A police officer claimed that his unit, along with many others, received payments for killing alleged drug offenders, and that there is no incentive for issuing arrests. Because the anti-drug operations run seven days a week, there is a lot of pressure from Duterte’s administration on the PNP to obtain results, which can only be seen by deaths and arrests. Even though the majority of the PNP’s kills are essentially EJKs, by planting “evidence” on the victims’ bodies and falsifying police reports, the deaths of countless civilians are considered “lawful”. Additionally, Reuters reported in June of 2017 that hospitals were cooperating with police to hide EJKs. Upon investigation,

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Reuters discovered that the percentage of victims pronounced dead on arrival increased from 13% in July 2016 to 85% in January 2017. The extreme brutality shown by the police and the government’s involvement in covering up their unlawful and immoral killings are blatant violations of the human rights that all persons are granted upon birth. Duterte also has a history of exaggerating statistics to support his movement, which has led to a misinformed population. Although Duterte’s administration frequently underreports EJKs caused by anti- drug raids, they often exaggerate the success of the operations with inflated numbers and falsified data. For example, in 2016, Duterte claimed that three million people were “drug addicts” in the Philippines, yet, the DDB only estimated 1.8 million drug users in 2015.

International response

Duterte has received widespread criticism from human rights organisations, but general international response to the Philippines’ war on drugs is varied. On June 19, 2018, thirty-eight countries expressed alarm over the drug-related killings in the Philippines. In a joint statement delivered at the 36th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), the countries called on the Philippines “to cooperate with the international community to pursue appropriate investigations into these incidents, in keeping with the universal principles of democratic accountability and the rule of law.” Duterte has received heavy criticism and condemnation from numerous UN officials, such as Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, which caused Duterte to threaten to withdraw the Philippines from the UN. The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) criticised “high officials” of the Philippine government for public statements that “seem to condone such killings and further seem to encourage State forces and civilians alike to continue targeting these individuals with lethal force,” which led to Duterte threatening to pull the Philippines out of the ICC. R. Iniyan Ilango of the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) has also called the human rights situation in the Philippines “deeply concerning.” However, as drug addiction is a genuine issue that many countries struggle with, numerous world leaders such as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe and American President Donald Trump have applauded the Philippines’ efforts in combatting illegal drug whilst remaining silent on the alarmingly high rates of drug-related EJKs.

On October 13, 2018, the Philippines won a seat in the UNHRC despite heavy opposition from numerous human rights NGOs and some opposition from other member nations. There is debate whether this victory means the acceptance of Duterte’s war on drugs or the expectation for the Philippines to uphold human rights.

Major Countries and Organizations Involved

Commission of Human Rights (CHR)

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The CHR, created under the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines, has the primary function of investigating all forms of human rights violations in the Philippines. Duterte said that the CHR would be “better abolished” during his State of the Nation Address in July of 2017 and in September 2017, the House of Representatives of the Philippines voted to reduce the CHR’s budget to ₱1,000 per year. If this budget proposal is approved by the Senate and President of the Philippines, the CHR would essentially be abolished.

The CHR has been active in attempting to protect the human rights of Philippine citizens. In response to Duterte’s criticism of and jabs at UNHRC Special Rapporteurs Agnes Callamard and Victoria Tauli-Corpuz in March of 2018, the CHR published a statement expressing remorse over the human rights violations occurring in the Philippines, and also called upon the Philippine government to allow human rights investigations to take place. These demands, of course, were ignored by Duterte and his administration.

International Criminal Court (ICC)

On March 17, 2018, the Philippines withdrew itself from the ICC, which it joined upon the ratification of the Rome Statute in 2011. Withdrawal becomes effective one year after a withdrawal notice is deposited to the UN Secretary General.

The withdrawal happened over the Preliminary Examination of the situation in the Philippines, which called for an analysation of the crimes committed in the duration of the war on drugs. A court prosecutor had announced that there was a strong indication that top governmental officials, including the President of the Philippines, had committed crimes against humanity during the war on drugs. The Philippine government claimed that the withdrawal was a “principled stand against those who politicise and weaponize human rights,” but many have criticised Duterte for what appears to be an attempt to evade justice.

The ICC is an intergovernmental organisation that has the jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for the international crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, but only when national courts are unwilling or unable to prosecute said individuals. The Philippine government has claimed that they are fully able to prosecute individuals, therefore, the Preliminary Examination was unnecessary and overstepped the ICC’s jurisdiction.

United States of America (USA)

Although the current President of the United States, Donald Trump, has expressed his approval of Duterte’s techniques in combatting illegal drugs, the policies of the USA clearly show their opposition to the mistreatment of suspected drug offenders. In December of 2016, enators Marco Rubio, Edward Markey, and Christopher Coons called the drug war a “campaign of mass atrocities,” asking the US

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State of Department to alleviate the drug problem in the Philippines. The three senators cited the Leahy Law, which prohibits the USA to assist any foreign nation with credible evidence of violating human rights. In April of 2018, Congress passed legislation that discontinued US assistance at combatting illegal drugs until the Philippines implements a “counter-narcotics strategy that is consistent with international human rights standards.”

The US federal immigration courts in Hawaii and California prevented the deportation of Filipinos with drug charges in 2017. In the California case, the UN Convention Against Torture was cited as if the Filipinos were sent back to the Philippines, their extraditions would result in the death penalty.

Taiwan

In June of 2016, the representative of Taiwan in the Philippines, Gary Song-Huann Lin, spoke on behalf of Taiwan and expressed their support of Duterte’s war on drugs.

Taiwan has recently displayed diplomatic goodwill towards the Philippines, especially with the deportation of Ricardo Parojinog, a former city councillor suspected of drug trafficking in the Philippines, in August of 2018. This was seen as a worrisome move by human rights advocates, as drug suspects in the Philippines have a high chance of being killed by prison guards due to encouragement from the Duterte administration and overcrowded prisons. Furthermore, the reintroduction of the death penalty for drug convicts is currently being discussed by the Philippine government.

Japan

Prime Minister Shinzō Abe said during his official state visit to the Philippines in January of 2017 that Japan was hopeful in working with the Philippines on countering illegal drugs and offered financial assistance to the Philippine drug rehabilitation centres. Abe has made no comments regarding the EJKs.

China

In 2016, Lingxiao Li, the spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Manila, declared China’s support for Duterte’s war on drugs and “expressed explicitly” the Chinese government’s willingness to devise a plan to combat illegal drugs with the Philippine government. Like Abe’s statement, there was no mention of the EJKs.

European Union (EU)

The EU was the Philippines’ fourth largest trading partner in 2016. With this financial relationship in mind, the European Parliament threatened to discontinue trade with the Philippines until the EJKs occurring in the drug war were curbed. This was due to increasing criticism over the human rights

Research Report Topic| Page 7 of 11 Shanghai Model United Nations XIX 2017 | Research Reports situation in the Philippines and the EU’s loyalty to the preservation of human rights. Some member states have considered calling for the removal of the Philippines from the UNHRC. Duterte has repeatedly slammed the EU for expressing concern over the supposed human rights violations occurring from the war on drugs.

Timeline of Events

Date Description of event

Duterte assumes presidency, enacts the war on drugs with Project Double June 30, 2016 Barrel, comprised of Project Tokhang and Project HVT (high-value target).

May 10 – July 7, 2016 PNP reported to have killed 103 suspects.

August 8, 2016 United States expresses concern over the EJKs.

August 30, 2016 Official death total of 2,000.

Mayor Ronaldo Espinosal, who surrendered to Duterte for being allegedly linked November 5, 2016 to the drug trade, was shot and killed by police in his cell. The officers claimed it was a shootout.

January – May, 2017 Anti-drug raids suspended after the death of a South Korean businessman.

45 out of 47 United Nations Human Rights Council express concern over the May 8, 2017 Philippines’ EJKs during the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva.

The PNP kills 32 people in one night. This is the highest death toll in a single day in the country’s war on drugs. 17-year-old Kian Loyd delos Santos was amongst August 16, 2017 the dead, resulting in mass protests and a brief suspension of PNP anti-drug raid activities.

PNP Chief retires, Police Director takes over April 19, 2018 two days later.

Numbers of people killed in anti-drug operations doubles after Albayalde May, 2018 assumes position of PNP Chief.

The Philippines is granted a three-year term on the UNHRC with 165 votes for, October 14, 2018 27 votes against, and 1 abstention.

Relevant UN Treaties and Events

• International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)

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• International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) • 36th regular session of the Human Rights Council (HRC36) • International Criminal Court (ICC)

Previous Attempts to solve the Issue Although no resolutions or multilateral agreements have been passed directly pertaining to the war on drugs in the Philippines, numerous individual countries have attempted to contribute to remedying the human rights situation in the Philippines through sanctions or announcements of public disapproval of the Duterte administration’s handling of the war on drugs.

Possible Solutions

As stated by numerous UN member nations, it is imperative for the Philippines to implement an anti-drug strategy that is compliant with international human rights standards. Focusing on eradicating the causes of drug addiction may be more humane than eradicating drug offenders. In a study conducted in a poor urban community in the Philippines has shown that drugs, specifically meth, helps youths stay awake to work at night and alleviates their hunger. This drug, essentially, fuels the impoverished in their pursuit of survival. This is due to harsh living conditions and scarce economic opportunities. An approach centred around education and providing economic opportunities would greatly benefit society and decrease the percentage of the usage of illegal drugs. Additionally, police and other law enforcement should be held accountable for unlawful killings by police officers and vigilantes to prevent instances where their power is abused.

The goal of the UNHRC is to craft a resolution that creates an investigatory body that can lead the Philippines towards the accountability its current government has refused to take, enforce measures that prevent the government from further violating its citizens’ human rights, and help the government create policies that can help combat the Philippines’ drug problem whilst respecting its sovereignty and citizens’ human rights.

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